New England Distribution

Non-native: introduced
(intentionally or
unintentionally); has become naturalized.

County documented: documented
to exist in the county by
evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers
those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).

State documented: never been
documented from the
county, but known from the state. May be present. Or,
may be restricted to a small area or a habitat (alpine,
marsh, etc.), so unlikely found in some
counties.

Note: when native and non-native
populations both exist in a county, only native status
is shown on the map.

North America Distribution

Facts About

Bristly blackberry is a common trailing species partial to wet habitats. Its arching stems bear three-parted compound leaves and are armed with numerous bristles that are narrow at the base. The stems can root at the tips, producing new stems. The fruits of bristly blackberry are eaten by many species of birds.

Native to North America?

Sometimes Confused With

stems upright to arching and sometimes trailing near tip, the first-year vegetative stems with leaves that have usually 5 deciduous leaflets that are acute to acuminate at the apex (vs. R. hispidus, with stems extensively trailing, the first-year vegetative stems with leaves usually with 3 somewhat evergreen leaflets that are obtuse to acute at the apex).

12×14.
Rubus flagellaris
×
Rubus hispidus
→ This rare blackberry hybrid is known from
ME. It has primocane leaves with thick leaflets, the leaflets usually numbering 3 but often the lateral leaflets with a lobe on the outer, basal margin (these lobes variably developed, sometimes the leaf with 5 total leaflets). The primocane stems are armed with both prickles and bristles. Tentative synonym:
Rubus mainensis Bailey.

13×14.
Rubus frondosus
×
Rubus hispidus
→ This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from
MA. It has primocanes with a mixture of small-based and broad-based prickles that are collectively abundant and abaxially pubescent leaves. The inflorescences have few, relatively small flowers.

14×17.
Rubus hispidus
×
Rubus jaysmithii
→ This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from
RI. It is intermediate between its parental species.

14×25.
Rubus hispidus
×
Rubus recurvicaulis
→ This rare blackberry hybrid is known from
MA, NH. It is marked by primocanes with trailing habit, primocane leaves with 3 or 5 leaflets that are chartaceous and not lustrous, stems armed with short prickles, bristles, and stipitate-glands, and short, compact, 6- to 10-flowered inflorescences up to 4 cm long.

14×26.
Rubus hispidus
×
Rubus semisetosus
→ This very rare blackberry hybrid is known from
MA. The primocanes are armed with mostly 100–300 bristles and small-based prickles per 10 cm and bear leaves with 3–5 oblong-ovate to ovate leaflets that are not lustrous (as in
Rubus hispidus) and are abaxially pubescent on the midrib and primary lateral veins and sparsely so between them. It is very similar to
R. hispidus
×R. vermontanus but has a greater degree of pubescence on the leaf blades.